Tech brief Breaking

Chrome 157 Patches 213 Security Flaws, Seven Critical: Update Now

By , Tech Cheat Codes Team

Published 5 min read

Illustration: A browser window on a dark blue background with a green security shield and an Update ready, Relaunch card.
Illustration: Tech Cheat Codes
On this page · 5 sections
  1. What the 213 fixes look like
  2. Who's affected
  3. What to do now
  4. A habit worth building
  5. References

Google pushed Chrome 157 to the stable channel for Windows, Mac and Linux on Tuesday, Nov. 3, with 213 security fixes inside. Seven of them carry Google's top Critical rating. The Android build went out the same day and reaches Google Play over the next few days.

If you use Chrome, you want this version. Most people get it without lifting a finger, but the update only finishes when Chrome restarts. Leave the browser open for days and you can still be sitting on the old build.

The new desktop version numbers are 157.0.8103.38 or 157.0.8103.39 for Windows and Mac, and 157.0.8103.38 for Linux. Google is rolling it out over the coming days and weeks, so not every computer has been offered it yet. Chrome 157.0.8103.38 for Android carries the same security fixes as the desktop release.

What the 213 fixes look like

SecurityWeek counted the severity labels Google published with the release: seven Critical and 77 High, with Medium and Low making up the rest of the 213. The most common bug types in the batch are incorrect or missing authorization, use-after-free memory bugs, UI misrepresentation, type confusion, information leaks, and out-of-bounds reads or writes.

The top Critical item is a buffer overflow in Dawn, Google's open-source WebGPU implementation. That one paid a $10,000 bug bounty. A second Critical is memory corruption in ANGLE, the graphics layer Chrome uses for drawing web pages, which paid $1,000. The other five Critical flaws are four use-after-free bugs and another buffer overflow. Google reported two of those; Anthropic researcher Xinyang Ge reported two; Wenbin Liu reported one.

Google listed about $31,000 in disclosed rewards for this cycle and said bounties for dozens of other bugs are still to be determined. Bug details may stay locked until most people have updated. That is normal. The point is not to hand attackers a map before the fix has spread.

Google's advisory does not say any of these flaws are being used in real attacks. That is the good news. Seven Critical fixes in one release is still a lot, and the easy move is to update now rather than waiting for Chrome to nudge you later.

Who's affected

Anyone still on Chrome 156 or older on a computer or Android phone. That covers Windows, Mac and Linux PCs, Android phones and tablets, and Chromebooks (those get Chrome through the Chromebook system update).

iPhone and iPad owners update Chrome through the App Store. The detailed bug list covers the desktop and Android builds, but keeping the iPhone app current is still worth doing.

Your device also has to meet Chrome's current floor:

Device Minimum for Chrome
Windows (Intel) Windows 10 or newer
Windows (ARM) Windows 11 or newer
Mac macOS 13 Ventura or newer
Android Android 10 or newer
iPhone and iPad iOS 18 or newer

If your machine sits below that line, it will not get this update. That is a signal to move to a browser that still gets security fixes on that hardware, or to a newer device.

What to do now

On a Windows PC, Mac or Linux computer

  1. Open Chrome.
  2. At the top right, click the three-dot More menu.
  3. Click Help, then About Google Chrome.
  4. Look at the number under the Google Chrome heading. Chrome also checks for updates while this page is open.
  5. If you see a Relaunch button, click it.

No Relaunch button usually means you are already current. When Chrome restarts, it reopens your tabs and windows. Incognito windows do not come back, so finish anything in those first. If you pick Not now, the update applies the next time you fully restart Chrome.

On Windows, closing every Chrome window and opening Chrome again also applies a waiting update. On a Mac, the About page has an option called Automatically update Chrome for all users, which helps when several people share the machine. Chromebook owners update Chrome by updating the Chromebook itself. Linux users update through their package manager.

On an Android phone or tablet

  1. Open the Play Store app.
  2. Tap your profile icon at the top right.
  3. Tap Manage apps & device.
  4. Under Updates available, find Chrome.
  5. Tap Update next to it.

If Chrome is not listed yet, the update has not reached your phone. Google ships it over a few days, so check again later in the week. To see which version you have, open Chrome and tap More, then Settings, then About Chrome.

On an iPhone or iPad

  1. Open the App Store.
  2. Tap your Profile picture at the top right.
  3. Scroll to Available Updates and look for Chrome.
  4. If it is listed, tap Update. Enter your Apple Account password if asked.

A habit worth building

Browsers are the program most of us use most, and they open pages from everywhere. That makes them a favorite target. Chrome checks for updates in the background, but the update only takes hold after a restart. Closing Chrome all the way once in a while, instead of only closing tabs, is the simplest fix.

If you help a parent or grandparent with their computer, this is a two-minute check. Open the About Google Chrome page and see if a Relaunch button is waiting.

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References